School Application Process

Come join us and see what BCSS has to offer!  It is recommended you review information under "Prospective Colts".  We are more that just a sports school, which is why the most important thing for you to determine is if Bill Crothers is a good fit for your family, and ultimately your student. There are many things to consider - transportation, schedules, your day-to-day and yearly schedules, and the program(s) for which you are looking.

Information Evenings - For applicants interested in applying for the 2027 - 2028 school year, the open house will take place on Thursday, September 24 from 6:30 - 7:30 pm followed by the application information session 7:30 - 8:30 pm.  

This goes over information that you will require during the completing of your application.  It is important to know that once you start the application, you cannot save and then go back to finish.  Once started - you must complete the application in one sitting.

Things to organize prior to submission:

1. Create a Google Account:  If you or your student already have a Google account than there is no need to set up an additional account.

2. Coach Reference:  Speak with the coach of the sport in which your student participates at the highest level and obtain the correct email address.  Advise the coach they will receive a digital reference form once your application is submitted.  If an incorrect email has been provided, the reference form will not be received which will therefore make your application incomplete. 

   1. Note: Please ensure you have listed the correct email address for your coach as references are completed digitally. Only one coach reference can be submitted.

   2. The coach cannot be a parent or relative of the applicant, and should be a different person from the teaching reference. 

3. Teacher Reference - Speak with one of your student's teacher from their current school, or a teacher who has taught your student within the last year.  Advise the teacher they will receive a digital reference form once your application is submitted.  Be sure to confirm your reference email address is correct!  If an incorrect email has been provided, the reference form will not be received which will therefore make your application incomplete. 

   1. Please ensure you have listed the correct email address for your teacher as references are completed digitally. Only one teacher reference can be submitted.

   2. The teacher cannot be a parent or relative of the applicant, and should be a different person from the coach reference. 

4. Academic Information:

   1. Grade 8 Students:  A copy of your Grade 7 Final Report Card (a copy must be submitted with your application).

   2. Current Grade 9 Students: A copy of your Grade 8 Final Report Card (a copy must be submitted with your application).

   3. Current Grade 10 Students: A copy of your Grade 9 Final Semester 1 and Final Semester 2 Report Cards. 

   4. Current Grade 11 Students:  A copy of your Grade 10 Final Semester 1 and Final Semester 2 Report Cards.

5. School Information:

   1. Current School Name, Address and School Board. 

   2. Current Principal's email address. 

   3. Secondary Homeschool that you are geographically scheduled to attend. 

6. Payment: $20 payment must be submitted through School Cash Online.  Receipt to be submitted with the application. No Cash or Cheque please.

    

Important:

• Please make sure you have your current email address to help with our correspondence with you. 

• Before entering your reference's email into your application - please email them to ensure that it is an active and correct email.

Use this link to complete the application:    Link to Application    This will Open September 25th, 2026 at 9 am.

1. Complete the online application.  If you have all of your required information, it should take about 30 minutes to one hour to complete.    
2. Review your application for accuracy.
3. Print the completed application form.
4. Prepare your complete application package:
   1. Report Cards
   2. School Cash Online Receipt -   Link to School Cash On-line
   3. Hard Copy of the completed Application Form
   4. Place these documents in an 8-1/2" x 11" envelope with the applicants name and current grade on the exterior. 

5.  Deliver the package to Bill Crothers.  Place the envelope in the large black drop box located in the building near the main office and entrance. 

The complete application package must be received by Friday, October 23, 2026. 

You have submitted your application and Bill Crothers will be sending out emails to your references the week of November 2, 2026

Please ensure your references have received the email - check in with them the week of November 2, 2026 to ensure they have received their email request for your reference. It may have gone to their junk folder or "promotions" filter in their email.  Once they complete the reference, the student applicant will receive a confirmation.  

All applicants will be emailed by the end of day Friday, January 8, 2027 regarding their application status.  

Students who are on the waiting list will be contacted by email if space becomes available during the 2027 - 2028 school year.

Each year it can vary and we do accept all grades, although the majority are incoming grade 9's.  Typically a grade 9 cohort would have anywhere between 420-440 students.  For current grade 9-12's, it is dependent on space and varies each semester. 

Each individual application is taken into account and processed on an individual basis.  If there are family connections currently at the school or several students in one family applying in the same year, there is no guarantee that all members are accepted. 

Yes there is a hard copy package to be submitted no later than Sunday October 26, 2025.  If a sibling attends, they can drop off the complete application to the drop box located inside the front door and just outside the main office entrance.  Packages that are incomplete and / or not received by the deadline will not be considered.

This counts as sport experience - please review the section above labelled   Recreational?  Competitive for Life?  Highly Competitive?  to know what category your experience falls into.

The full application is taken into account and it is a holistic approach.  We are looking for students who work to their potential.  It is not just about marks or just about sport. All areas of the application are taken into account.

Any student residing in York Region is eligible to apply. Students from outside the Board may apply; acceptance is dependant on availability.  We have many students from within the Region as well as outside.  If you are planning to move into the York Region but have not yet, you are still considered out of the area. Please use your current address. 

For students currently in Grade 9, you provide the grade 8 report.  

We have provided instructions of all you will need to complete the application on our prospective colts page with dropdown options for each step.  

Yes.  

This looks different each  year depending on space but we do offer spots to grade 9, 10, 11, and 12's in January each year.  

As a York Region school we do have a majority of students who live in York Region but also have students who come from outside of the Region (Durham, Toronto, etc.)

Yes.

At Bill Crothers we strive to support all students and have a large Special Education Department with a very supportive team.  All IEP students have a SERT who will meet with them regularly and assist them in advocating for their needs in their classes.  We also offer a Learning Strategies program that can serve as a transition into high school.  There are a range of supports depending on the needs of the student and our teachers are understanding and supportive of the various accommodations a student requires.  

 Integrated Learning Instructional Period. Purpose of ILIP: 

1. Give students the opportunity to meet with teachers in subject areas where they need support; 

2. Provides a flexible structure to complete student directed work & homework;  

3. Opportunities to collaborate with classmates and peer mentors.  

What ILIP is NOT:

Free time to chill with friends, extra lunch time. The Ministry of Education is closely tracking student attendance and instructional time. Students must meet the required 110 hours of instructional time for each class. Missing ILIP could result in losing credit(s).

At Bill Crothers we do not just concentrate on athletics, rather this is the lens that we are able to use for our students as they learn in and outside the classroom.  We implement the Ontario Curriculum concentrating on critical thinking, metacognition, and higher order thinking in order to challenge students to thrive and move forward in their learning. We honour all pathways at Bill Crothers.  

On average we have over 60 teams run a year which would be too numerous too list - there are many options for students to try out for the sports in each season and tryouts are communicated through our announcements, instagram and website. 

We have many clubs running this year such as chess club, French club, Model UN, Black Student Alliance, Colt Newspaper, Colts in Action and many more!  Check out our calendar and clubs under the "student" tab to see all that is going on in our building this year.  

We have regular intramural sports for Jr students and Sr Students. These are hosted at lunch and students have the opportunity to sign up.  

There are costs to be aware of such as the uniform, transportation if you choose private bussing, activity and sports fees etc.  

These costs may vary.  We have fees associated with sports that are based on cost recovery the specific teams’ play. The costs are determined in conjunction with the Athletics department and the coach who set out the student team fees. For example: Students participating in a volleyball team, will be subject to additional costs (team apparel, extra tournament fees/transportation). All sports programming is subsidized through athletics.

This is a yearly fee for all students that helps to subsidise the many sport programs at Bill Crothers.

We highly recommend using your current grade 8 teacher but understand this might not always be possible in certain circumstances.  It needs to be a teacher in the last 2 school years.  A grade 7 teacher or a current teacher, but not a grade 6 teacher.  You can use a virtual school teacher as a reference. 

Please only submit 1 reference for a teacher and 1 reference for a coach.  Only one each will be accepted.   Letters are not to be submitted, only the completed digital forms that are sent to the provided emails will be accepted.  These forms will be sent directly to your chosen references and they will submit it digitally.  There will be no paper references - all will be completed online and the student applicant does not give anything to the references.  You will receive a confirmation once a reference completes the online reference.

You can use a previous coach in the last 12 months of the sport you've played at the highest level.  If this is a school coach for a school team, that is applicable.  This applies for students who may have been training at a different level a few years ago.  Please use a coach from the last 12 months.

The coach and teacher reference need to be two separate people.  You can decide who the teacher reference will be and the coach as long as they are two different people. 

The reference can be a gym teacher etc - someone who has seen the student participate in some sort of sport. (Intramurals, house league etc would qualify for active for life).